Marcus Mariota shines on Letterman

ESPN And The NBA To Produce Documentary On Magic Johnson's 1991 H.I.V. Announcement

ESPN Films and N.B.A. Entertainment will announce a documentary about Magic Johnson’s decision to go public about his contraction of H.I.V., The New York Times reports.

The film is slotted to debut on ESPN on March 11, according to The Times. One reason for creating the film, according to its director Nelson George, was to keep H.I.V. and Aids in the national conversation.

“People are still dying of the virus,” George told The Times. “People are living very tough lives because of it. It’s falling off the national agenda, I believe, and this in some way helps us reintroduce it.”

Johnson stunned the world in 1991 when he announced that he had contracted the disease, and that as a result he would retire despite still being in the prime of his N.B.A. career. He later returned to play 32 games for the Lakers in 1995, and today is a successful broadcaster and business mogul.